World Hijab Day Celebrates Five Years In Fort McMurray

Women from all over the community came out in droves to celebrate the Fifth Annual World Hijab Day.

That’s according to the Fort McMurray World Hijab Day Committee who were celebrating five years of World Hijab Day here in the RMWB.

On Sunday, women of all religions came out to Peter Pond Mall to try one on, see what it feels like and learn about the misconceptions surrounding the Islamic headscarf.

President and co-founder for the committee, Kiran Malik-Khan tells Mix News thanks to hard work from the committee, they had a much larger turnout then expected.

“Officially we started at 1 p.m., but people started coming at 12:15. And it’s been amazing, many women have gone and tried on a hijab and little girls are looking so cute with them on. It’s a perfect afternoon out with your girls, we promised it and we’re delivering it.”

Malik-Khan adds that it’s critical to have events like these that teach about diversity and promote inclusivity.

The celebration even saw an appearance from Mayor Don Scott and several other councillors.

Scott took some time to thank the committee for their work while also noting that he an councillor Mike Allen had been apart of ever World Hijab Day in Fort McMurray, since its inception.

Malik-Khan says they couldn’t have put together such a successful event – without the community’s help.

“We really appreciate our community coming out and supporting us. Because we can build it, but if they don’t come, what’s the point? But we built it, they came and now it’s time to just keep building it even stronger.”

She notes the event has grown stronger than ever – and she expects it to continue to do so through the next five years and beyond.